Guatemala: Joint Press Release: Climate of intimidation against civil society after the regrettable decision not to renew CICIG’s mandate

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JOINT PRESS RELEASE – THE OBSERVATORY / UDEFEGUA

Geneva-Paris-Guatemala City, September 6,
2018 – Police interventions seeking to locate the leaders of human rights
organisations as well as monitoring and surveillance of their offices are
examples of the intimidation taking place in Guatemala after President Jimmy
Morales’ decision not to renew CICIG’s mandate, the
Observatory and UDEFEGUA have denounced.

On August 31, the President of the Republic
of Guatemala announced his decision not to renew the mandate of the
International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which will end
in September 2019. The announcement was made in the framework of a press
conference in which President Jimmy Morales was surrounded by senior police and
military officers and while police and military units were deployed throughout
Guatemala City, including near the office of CICIG. The decision has been made
by the President of Guatemala while an investigation against him is carried out
due to alleged illegal financing of his election campaign.

The Observatory and UDEFEGUA report that
since the run-up to the press conference there has been a climate of
intimidation and harassment against the main human rights organisations in the
country and, specifically, against their leaders.

It has been documented by UDEFEGUA that the
National Civilian Police (PNC) tried to track down at least seven human rights
organisations leaders in the run-up to and immediately after the announcement
that CICIG’s mandate would not be renewed. The list
included Mr. Nery Rodenas, Head of
Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG), Ms. Helen Mack, Executive Director of the
Myrna Mack Foundation, Mr. Alfonso
Carrillo, human rights lawyer, Mr. Daniel
Pascual, leader of Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC), Ms. Iduvina Hernández, Asociación para el
Estudio y la Promoción de la Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM), Mr. Jorge Alberto Santos, General
Coordinator of UDEFEGUA, and Ms. Claudia
Virginia Samayoa, President of the Board of UDEFEGUA and member of the
Executive Council of OMCT.

According to one person who did speak to the
PNC, the police officers stated that they were assessing the effectiveness of
the protection measures granted to human rights defenders in Guatemala.
However, several facts lead to believe that they were carrying out an
intimidation campaign against human rights defenders in the framework of the current
political and human rights crisis in Guatemala. Firstly, they arrived at the
offices unannounced around the time President Morales’ press conference took place. Moreover, several of these individuals have
never been granted protection measures. Secondly, it is important to note that
since August 31 several police and military units have been monitoring and
surveying the offices of social, popular and human rights organisations,
including with armoured and armed vehicles. One example is the fact that an
UDEFEGUA building has been permanently and continuously surveyed since August
31.

Therefore, the Observatory and UDEFEGUA urge
the Guatemalan authorities to end any acts of intimidation against the
Guatemalan civil society and, specifically, against human rights organisations.

Lastly, the Observatory and UDEFEGUA condemn
the decision not to renew CICIG’s mandate. This commission
has played a paramount role in the fight against impunity and corruption in the
country, a key requirement to ensure the respect of human rights and,
specifically, to guarantee the full protection of human rights defenders in
Guatemala. Furthermore, the Observatory and UDEFEGUA condemn the illegal
decision, which opposes the rulings of the Constitutional Court, to bar entry
to the Commissioner of CICIG Iván Velásquez and urge the Guatemalan authorities
to urgently reverse both decisions[1].

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to
intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of
ProtectDefenders.eu,
the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by
international civil society.

The Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of Guatemala
(UDEFEGUA) is an organization that provides services to human rights defenders
in Guatemala and in countries of the Central American region since 2000, for
the generation of individual and Collective self-management of risks. UDEFEGUA
is a member organization of the SOS-Torture Network of OMCT.